Welcome

It's a foodie (and drinkie) kind of issue this week, as we raise a glass to three North London gastropubs named among Britain's best 100 and celebrate a Highgate restaurateur who's just been awarded the Freedom of the City of London.

🍻 3 Award-winning Local Pubs

Three Cheers for North London!

Three north London pubs have made it into the UK's top 100 – proving there's considerably more to a good local than a packet of crisps and a pint.

The Good Food Guide has revealed its pick of Britain's best pubs, celebrating places that combine fantastic food, great atmosphere and proper community spirit.

And three of our north London neighbours have earned bragging rights. Here's who's made the cut – and why they're worth a visit.

1: The Parakeet, Kentish Town – No. 29

Named after the noisy green birds that have made themselves at home on Hampstead Heath, The Parakeet has soared into 29th place.

Opened in 2023 by the team behind The Jazz Cafe and The Blues Kitchen, this revamped Victorian boozer has become a foodie favourite thanks to its open-fire cooking, celebrated Sunday roasts and lively pub quizzes.

2: The Eagle, Clerkenwell – No. 37

The granddaddy of gastropubs is still showing the youngsters how it's done.

When The Eagle opened in 199 its founders had a radical idea – why shouldn't pub food rival restaurant cooking?

That simple ambition helped launch Britain's gastropub revolution. Thirty-five years later, The Eagle remains a destination for seriously good food without the fine-dining fuss.

3: The Tamil Crown, Islington – No. 79

Forget your traditional pie and mash. This Indian gastropub near Angel serves up a deliciously different take on pub dining.

Opened in 2023 by the team behind The Tamil Prince, its menu features punchy South Indian flavours, from spiced chicken lollipops to butter chicken masala and garlic prawns.

Three very different pubs, one excellent excuse to explore Finchley’s surrounding area.

And if you want to leave North London – number two on the list is The Cow in Notting Hill; celebrity hotspot loved by Kylie, Tom Cruise and David Beckham.

Cheers to that! 🍻

Events

ARTS

Friday 13th November

​Crafting Our Stories: A Black History Month Exhibition by Elizabeth Joseph | Fri, Nov. 13 | 9:00 am to 8:00 pm | Edgware Library, Hale Lane, Edgware, HA8 8NN | Free | Last day to see heritage community crafts made in workshops led by Barnet crafter Elizabeth Joseph. Drop in, no booking needed.

Saturday 14th November

​Workshop: Making Through The Body with Mohini Kaur | Sat, Nov. 14 | 11:00 am to 1:00 pm | OmVed Gardens, Highgate | £30, subsidised tickets available | Let the body lead in a gentle workshop of movement and mark-making with OmVed's Artist of the Month. No art experience needed.

COMMUNITY

Saturday 14th November

​Light + Flight Festival | Sat, Nov. 14 | 12:00 pm to 9:00 pm (Sun 15 Nov, 11:00 am to 7:00 pm) | Finchley Lakeside, Squires Lane, N3 2QT | Free, reserve a spot | Barnet's free festival opens the five-storey Finchley Lakeside building to the public for the first time, with art installations, live music, film, workshops and food. Look out for David Arnold's new arrangement of George Michael's Praying for Time.

Wednesday 25th November

​Winter Lights Switch-On | Wed, Nov. 25 | 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm | Claremont Park, Brent Cross Town | Free | Carol singing, a live brass band and free festive treats from Gussy's Ice Cream Parlour, with a visit from Santa and his elves.

Thursday 26th November

​Highgate Lights Switch-On | Thu, Nov. 26 | From 4:30 pm | Pond Square, N6 | Free | Dame Meera Syal and Sanjeev Bhaskar switch on Highgate's Christmas lights, hosted by Alex Zane. Santa's Grotto at The Crown from 3:00 pm for under-10s, and Highgate Brass Ensemble in Pond Square from 4:00 pm.

FOOD & DRINK

Tuesday 10th November

​Weekly Quiz at Malt & Hops | Tue, Nov. 10 | 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm | Malt & Hops, 891 High Road, North Finchley, N12 8QA | £3 per person | A fun weekly quiz with a picture round, music round and Family Fortunes, plus £50 up for grabs every week. Every Tuesday.

Saturday 14th November

​Barnet Borough Sight Impaired Quiz Supper | Sat, Nov. 14 | From 6:15 pm | Woodside Park Social Club, N12 7JG | £20 per person | A cold buffet supper, nibbles and soft drinks with a quiz, supporting a charity run by and for visually impaired people.

MUSIC

Friday 27th November

​Showtime with the Memory Lane Singers | Fri, Nov. 27 | 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm | St Mary-at-Finchley Church, Hendon Lane, N3 1TR | Free, donations welcome | An hour of familiar songs from the award-winning Memory Lane Singers, celebrating 34 years of singing in the community.

SHOPPING

Saturday 14th November

​Crafty Fox Market at the British Library | Sat, Nov. 14 | 11:00 am to 5:00 pm (also Sun 15 Nov) | British Library, 96 Euston Road, NW1 2DB | Free, book a ticket | Kickstart your Christmas shopping with handmade gifts, prints, ceramics and jewellery from independent makers, with a different line-up each day.

THEATRE

Thursday 19th November

​Pupperella | Thu, Nov. 19 | 7:00 pm | Upstairs at the Gatehouse, N6 4BD | £22 | A pantomime with a difference: Cinderella retold with Pupperella and her canine co-stars stealing the show.

Events - Book Ahead

Friday 4th December

​Comedy Night at Cockfosters FC | Fri, Dec. 4 | 7:00 pm to 10:30 pm | Cockfosters Football Club, Chalk Lane, Cockfosters, EN4 9HZ | £15 | The Last Stop, a brand-new night of live stand-up comedy at the club.

Monday 14th December

​Festive Singalong | Mon, Dec. 14 | 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm | The Ann Owens Centre, Oak Lane, N2 8LT | Free, let Age UK Barnet know you're coming | Musical performances, a singalong, mince pies, hot spiced apple juice, a tombola and cards designed by Age UK Barnet's art group.

Saturday 30th January

​Matilda the Musical JR | Sat, Jan. 30 | 2:30 pm | The Bull Theatre, EN5 5SJ | £25 | Roald Dahl's Matilda The Musical JR, with music and lyrics by Tim Minchin.

Local Lowdown

Checkmating

• Finchley has a chess star in the making. Sultan Sharkhanov, eight, only picked up the game two years ago, but after winning the Under 8s title at the UK Chess Challenge he has been flying the flag for England at the European Youth Chess Championships in Crete.

Signposting

• Finchley Foodbank is doing more than filling bags. The East Finchley foodbank, which helps over 550 people a week, has launched a new Information and Support service with help on bills, benefits and finding work, aiming to tackle the causes of food poverty, not just the symptoms.

Rerouting

• Heading into town next weekend? Plan your trip home first. On Saturday 14 November there is no Night Tube on the Northern line between Morden and East Finchley or Golders Green, and by day that weekend the Bank branch is shut between Morden and Euston.

Rededicating

• Two war memorials to local transport workers have a new lease of life. Restored First World War memorials to staff of the Metropolitan Electric Tramways Finchley Depot and the Hendon bus garage were unveiled at St Kilda's on Ballards Lane, with Spike Milligan's daughter Jane leading the ceremony.

Matching

• Struggling to find an NHS dentist? Help may be at hand. Dr Majid Saeed of High Barnet Dental Practice has built Odenta, a platform that alerts patients for free when practices nearby have spare NHS appointments. It has already found slots for more than 70 people.

The Finchleyite: Sabbir Karim

From serving curries to serving communities, local restaurateur Sabbir Karim has added another distinction to his CV – the Freedom of the City of London.

The British-Bangladeshi chef, entrepreneur and philanthropist recently received the historic honour at a Guildhall ceremony.

Sabbir is behind three popular north London restaurants – Salaam Namaste in Bloomsbury, Namaaste Kitchen in Camden and our very own Namaaste Highgate – celebrating regional Indian and Bangladeshi cuisine.

And he's no stranger to high flying. Alongside running three restaurants, he's spent more than 30 years with British Airways as cabin crew. Quite how he juggles life at 35,000 feet with three busy kitchens is anyone's guess.

Through his foundation and other charitable initiatives, Sabbir also supports healthcare, education and vulnerable communities in Britain and Bangladesh.

A well-deserved honour for a familiar face on our local dining scene.